The wicked imperial concubine is courting death again; the comments section teaches her how to win w

Before getting married, Qi Yitang heard from others that women who have children are prone to excessive maternal love.

I feel anxious if I don't see him for a day, and my husband and everything else have to take a backseat.

Qi Yitang felt that she was fine. She liked the child when he wasn't crying, but once he started crying, she wished she could throw the little thing far away.

Especially her son, who was energetic and loud. She was not as good at coaxing the child as Xie Changqing, and had no patience at all. She just felt her head buzzing.

Qi Yitang felt that seeing the child twice a day was enough, no more than that.

As for the rest, let's wait until they develop their intelligence.

Xie Ling had no objection to this, and even thought that her arrangement was very reasonable. The husband should come first, and the child should come second.

As a result, the couple's life was almost no different from before they had children.

They became even more inseparable because they had both "died" once.

For example, at lunchtime, Qi Yitang was always held in Xie Ling's arms, who still fed her hand by hand.

A bite of food, a spoonful of soup, and then, for no apparent reason, they want to kiss each other.

Having seen it so many times, Li Degui was basically immune to it; it would be strange if the emperor and empress didn't have their mouths sticking together one day.

That was fine, but what puzzled Qi Yitang was that Xie Ling had recently been showing her memorials and sometimes asking for her opinion.

"Tangtang, how do you think we should respond to this memorial?"

Qi Yitang blinked. "Ask me?"

He's back now, why should she still make the decisions?

Xie Ling actually regretted it a little. She used to think that when husband and wife are married, the husband should take the lead and she could play carefree.

But this time, her faked death caused turmoil in the court, forcing her to take on the role of issuing orders in front of the ministers. When she returned, she would anxiously scratch her head in front of the folding paper, which made Xie Ling feel sorry for her.

These were all his oversights.

Although the elder sister and younger brother had no ulterior motives, the emperor was suspicious, and Xie Ling trusted Qi Yitang the most.

Even peace and stability in the land are temporary. The Great Qian Empire is vast, and there will always be places he cannot see.

If any unforeseen events occur in the future... the more she knows as the Empress Dowager, the more composed she will be.

Upon hearing this, Qi Yitang immediately covered his mouth, saying, "You're not allowed to say unlucky things. You said you'd walk behind me."

"But what if..."

"There's no 'what if,' and I don't accept 'what if'!" Qi Yitang glared at him. "Spit it out, spit it out, spit it out, just tell me!"

Xie Ling obediently replied, "Okay, ptooey, ptooey."

He gently wiped away a single tear from the corner of her eye with his fingertips. "It was my fault. I said the wrong thing. Let's not talk about it anymore. I won't mention it again."

"You're still in your postpartum period, you can't cry."

Qi Yitang wrapped her arms around his neck, her voice still a little muffled, "I can learn to handle state affairs from you, but I don't like this kind of hypothetical situation..."

"It's not just me; we also have a child. No matter what happens, you have to fight your way back—otherwise, I'll really remarry with the child in my arms!"

Remarriage is Xie Ling's Achilles' heel.

He had finally managed to kill Xie Jingyu, so how could he allow himself to become a handful of dust and be replaced by future generations?

Xie Ling gripped her chin. "If you dare remarry while carrying the emperor's child, I'll crawl up from the ground and *kill* you!"

Anyone can make threats.

Qi Yitang lowered her head and took a vicious bite of his chest. "I'll fuck you to death after I finish my postpartum confinement!"

That wicked thing, always saying such unlucky things.

Having not been intimate in a long time, Xie Ling, thoroughly satisfied with the biting, stroked the back of her head and sighed, "Tangtang, a little harder..."

Qi Yitang looked down in shock, “…” This is perverted, how can he get hard like this?

I really want to slap him until he's weak.

Xie Ling had already found her lips and kissed her. "Don't get distracted."

……

After they regained their composure, more than an hour had passed.

Qi Yitang's lips were swollen, and she was nestled in Xie Ling's arms when Li Degui came in from outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, news has come from the prison that Grand Secretary Xu... is gone. He committed suicide."

Xie Ling paused slightly, then waved his hand, "I understand, bury him."

Li Degui: "Yes."

Grand Secretary Xu... Xu Ru?

Qi Yitang had some impression of this old man; he was the first person to speak up when she presented the fake imperial edict in court.

How did he end up in jail and even die?

Xie Ling explained: "The person who colluded with Qin Yuanchao was Xu Ru."

"Huh?" Qi Yitang was completely taken aback. How could Xie Ling's mentor be involved with Qin Yuanchao?

Why did he do that?

Xie Ling also asked Xu Ru himself this question.

Before besieging Qin Yuanchao, he went to the Xu residence, wanting to hear his sophistry in person.

What benefits did Qin Yuanchao give him that made him risk the extermination of his entire family to help a rebel?

Xu Ru was sitting behind his desk when Xie Ling arrived. He was not surprised at all. "I am relieved to see Your Majesty return safely."

Xie Ling: "I am fine, but my teacher's situation is uncertain."

"I knew this day would come."

A faint smile appeared on Xu Ru's aged face. "So many years have passed in the blink of an eye. Your Majesty is about to become a father and is no longer the naive young man you once were."

"I am very pleased that Your Majesty has such keen insight into the ways of the world and is so adept at planning," the old minister with gray hair sighed. "I have nothing more to teach Your Majesty..."

Xie Ling was born into a cold palace and encountered very little kindness.

Xu Ru is one of them.

If it were just ordinary corruption that didn't shake the foundations of the country, Xie Ling might really have turned a blind eye.

However, Xu Ru colluded with Qin Yuanchao, secretly passing on messages and helping him plot a rebellion, which almost harmed Tangtang.

This is something he absolutely cannot tolerate.

Within a few hours, Xu Ru had confessed everything.

His motivation was both lamentable and despicable—it was for money.

Xu Ru was known throughout the entire Daqian Dynasty for his poverty. He lived a simple life, and when it rained heavily outside, it would drizzle inside his house.

Even so, he donated all the gold and silver bestowed upon him by the emperor, which sometimes resulted in his official robes being patched.

It's hard to believe that someone who is an imperial tutor receives such treatment.

In reality, his poverty was merely a facade.

Who doesn't love money?

It all started with Xu Ru embezzling money, storing the large sums he had embezzled at his estate in the suburbs, which was unexpectedly discovered by Qin Yuanchao.

Qin Yuanchao then used this matter to threaten him. Although Xu Ru was greedy, he didn't actually spend much money on pleasure. What he cared about most was his reputation.

He had a clean reputation his whole life, but if he ended up as a corrupt official and was despised by everyone, he couldn't bear it.

So when Qin Yuanchao revealed his identity as the "son of the late emperor," he was momentarily bewitched and was swept up in it, going further and further astray.

Knowing his sins were grave, Xu Ru confessed everything, tears streaming down his face, and begged Xie Ling to spare at least the lives of his family, out of consideration for their teacher-student relationship.

His mentor knelt down and begged him pleadingly, and Xie Ling should have complied.

But he had already experienced the consequences of being merciful for a time.

To protect his wife and children, neither a benevolent nor a wise ruler was enough; he was willing to be a tyrant.

Xie Ling spared no one from the Xu family.

On the surface, he still agreed to Xu Ru's request to deal with only him and let him leave in peace. As for whether his family encountered bandits or something similar on their way home, that was none of his concern.

After hearing this, Qi Yitang remained silent for a long while before taking Xie Ling's hand.

"Yanzhi, are you feeling sad?"